LONDON, United Kingdom – The United Kingdom will ban three categories of extreme pornography from November 6, making it illegal to distribute material depicting strangulation or suffocation, sexual activity between relatives or people pretending to be related, and adults pretending to be children under the age of 16.
The measures, announced by the government, follow cross-party pressure over concerns about the potential effects of violent and degrading pornography on women and girls.
The new rules will cover pornography depicting strangulation or suffocation, sexual activity between people who are related or presented as relatives, and content in which someone aged 18 or older pretends to be a child under 16.
MPs previously told Sky News that the changes could place the UK among the countries with some of the strongest regulations governing online pornography.
Government Cites Concerns Over Violence Against Women
Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones said the government was committed to reducing violence against women and girls and argued that harmful pornography remained too easy to access online.
“This isn’t about criminalising harmless sexual preferences,” she said, adding that pornography could influence how people, particularly young people, understand healthy relationships.
“Content that normalises, or even glorifies, violence against women is dangerous and can blur the line with what is acceptable in real life,” Davies-Jones said.
The government says the restrictions are intended to address material that depicts or normalises violence and harmful sexual behaviour.
Review Raised Alarm Over Strangulation Content
Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin, who recommended the measures in her 2025 review of pornography regulation, welcomed the announcement.
Bertin’s report warned that pornography depicting women being choked could have serious real-world consequences. It also highlighted role-play involving incest and adults portraying children.
“This change in law alongside better enforcement and stronger regulation will send the unequivocal signal not only to the companies that host and facilitate porn but also to wider society that extreme and violent content that encourages real-life harm is not acceptable,” Bertin said.
The review formed part of wider calls for stronger controls on online pornography and its potential influence on attitudes and behaviour.
Studies Highlight Prevalence Of Sexual Choking
Research cited in the debate has raised concerns about the prevalence of strangulation and choking during sexual activity.
A 2024 study by the Institute for Addressing Strangulation found that more than a third of adults aged 16 to 34 reported having been strangled or choked at least once during consensual sex.
A survey by the same organisation in 2025 found that 43 per cent of sexually active 16- and 17-year-olds said they had been subjected to the practice.
The findings have added to concerns among campaigners and policymakers about the normalisation of choking and strangulation through online content.
Enforcement Will Be Key
The restrictions are intended to make the specified categories of pornography illegal under UK law when the measures take effect on November 6.
Supporters argue that the changes will strengthen protections against material they say can normalise violence or harmful sexual behaviour. The practical impact will depend in part on how the law is enforced and how online platforms respond to the new requirements.
The government has presented the measures as part of its wider commitment to tackling violence against women and girls, while distinguishing the targeted content from what it describes as harmless sexual preferences.
